The Board of Governors of the Ottawa Hospital has rejected Tunney's Pasture as the site for a new Civic Hospital campus.
In a statement, the Board says the rejection of the National Capital Commission's recommendation was unanimous at a Board meeting Monday night.
The Board says it "recognizes the efforts of the federal government to help the hospital find a solution to its aging Civic Campus" but it has "a fiduciary responsibility to represent the health needs of the community it serves" and "cannot in good faith support Tunney's Pasture as the future location for the Civic Campus."
The Board says it remains concerned about imposing a greater access burden on patients and their families arriving by car; it remains concerned about demolishing buildings and displacing public servants at Tunney's Pasture, and costs associated with that; and it remains concerned about the time it would take to build a new hospital at Tunney's Pasture. The Board wants a new hospital within the next 10 years to replace the aging Civic, which first opened its doors in 1924.
The Board says any of these concerns are serious enough on their own, but taken together they pose "a risk we cannot pass on to our patients and the community at large."
The Board says it looks forward to continuing its discussions with the NCC and all levels of government on next steps.
The Hospital had previously said Tunney's Pasture was not among its top-ranked sites for a new campus in evaluations in 2008 and 2016.
Tunney's Pasture was recommended by the NCC on Thursday, November 24. The NCC reviewed 12 possible sites for the new hospital, including four at the Central Experimental Farm, directly across the street from the current Civic Campus. Tunney's Pasture was selected with a vote of 9-2, with two abstentions. The NCC said Tunney's Pasture had the right size and shape, and would be close to the future LRT.
The move was denounced by federal Conservatives, such as Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre. Others, such as Kitchissippi Ward Councillor Jeff Leiper expressed surprise at the selection. But Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly called it "an excellent site" and Ottawa Centre Liberal MP and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told CFRA's Ottawa Now with Evan Solomon that the NCC came to "a very good decision." The choice was also cheered by supporters of the Experimental Farm, who are asking the land no longer be made available for future federal developments.
Late Tuesday afternoon, five Ottawa-area Liberal MPPs sided with the Ottawa Hospital in a joint statement.
Over the last 10 years there has been a crane at every hospital in Ottawa, and we remain committed to investing in health care in Ottawa and across the province. We have been working with The Ottawa Hospital on the development of a new Civic Campus. A new Civic Campus is critical to the future healthcare needs of our growing city and our aging population.
Late last week the National Capital Commission (NCC) made a recommendation to the Federal Minister of Canadian Heritage that Tunney's Pasture be used as the future site for The Ottawa Hospital's new Civic Campus.
We believe that local decision making is critical and we fully support The Ottawa Hospital Board as it responds to the NCC’s recommendation in moving the new Civic Campus forward.
Our concerns are in line with what has been previously expressed by various community leaders surrounding access, cost to public purse and risk of a lengthy delay. This is a significant investment in our healthcare system and the quality of life for all Ottawa residents.
It is extremely important that we get it right to avoid lengthy delays to the rollout of this project, and we believe that this recommendation needs to be reconsidered.
The statement was signed by Bob Chiarelli (Ottawa West--Nepean), Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre) John Fraser (Ottawa South), Marie-France Lalonde (Ottawa--Orléans) and Nathalie Des Rosiers (Ottawa-Vanier).
You can read the full statement by the Board of Governors of the Ottawa Hospital below:
The Board of Governors of The Ottawa Hospital has a fiduciary responsibility to represent the health needs of the community it serves. The board recognizes the efforts of the federal government to help the hospital find a solution to its aging Civic Campus. After hearing from the patients and citizens of the National Capital Region and eastern Ontario, and after completing our own analysis of the NCC report, we cannot in good faith support Tunney’s Pasture as the future location for the Civic Campus. As a result, last night at a meeting of the Board, the Governors unanimously passed a motion to not support the NCC Board recommendation.
We remain concerned about the access, costs and timelines of locating a major hospital at Tunney’s Pasture.
- Access: Given that The Ottawa Hospital has over a million patient visits annually, we cannot impose a greater access burden on our patients and their families who arrive at our hospital by car.
- Costs: The costs of demolishing buildings, displacing public servants and preparing the land at Tunney’s Pasture are significant. We cannot impose this financial burden on our fundraising community that has supported us for decades, or ask taxpayers to step into their place. We do not serve our patients’ best interests by choosing an option that inflates the cost of a new hospital at a time when health-care dollars are so scarce.
- Timelines: We cannot support an option that would jeopardize completing a new Civic Campus in the next 10 years. There are other options that enable the hospital and community to meet this 10-year timeline. Time is of the essence, given the aging facility and its impact on the hospital’s ability to deliver 21st-century health care.
Any of these concerns taken individually is serious enough but, taken together, these three concerns pose a risk we cannot pass on to our patients and the community at large.
We look forward to continuing these discussions with the NCC and all levels of government on next steps.